Maryland Spy Suspects Didn't Discuss Fleeing Country To Evade Arrest: Report

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Defense lawyers denied that an Annapolis couple accused of espionage discussed fleeing the country to avoid arrest, the Associated Press reported. The attorneys instead argued that the suspects actually hoped to leave the United States because they disliked then-President Donald Trump.

The prosecution initially highlighted a text from the wife saying "I cannot believe that the two of us wouldn’t be welcomed and rewarded by a foreign govt," journalist Eric Tucker wrote. The defense later surfaced her messages stating that "The entire system is rigged" and that "We need to get out."

"Obviously, the additional messages paint an entirely different picture as to why Mrs. Toebbe wanted to leave the country," Barry Beck, one of the wife's lawyers, told the AP. "Rather than scheming to escape capture and prosecution for crimes, Mrs. Toebbe was clearly motivated to leave the country for political reasons."

The investigation first made headlines in October when officials accused the Annapolis duo of conspiring to sell government secrets. Prosecutors said the suspects thought they were working with a foreign government, but they were really coordinating with an undercover FBI agent trying to catch them.

The suspects then agreed to sell three files on nuclear-powered warships to the undercover agent in exchange for $100,000 in cryptocurrency, the government said. Authorities eventually caught the suspects hiding several encrypted SD cards in West Virginia and Virginia, using decoy containers like a peanut butter sandwich and a chewing gum package.

The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service arrested the accused couple on Oct. 9 in Jefferson County, West Virginia. The U.S. Department of Justice identified the arrestees as 42-year-old Jonathan Toebbe, a nuclear engineer for the Department of the Navy, and 45-year-old Diana Toebbe, who is accused of playing lookout during the drop-offs.

Diana Toebbe later asked the court to stay at home with the couple's two children until the trial. Washington Post reporter Devlin Barrett said a judge rejected that request on Oct. 21, calling Diana Toebbe a flight risk.

Pre-trial motions were set to begin in the week of Nov. 29, but U.S. District Judge Gina Groh postponed them until Feb. 17, WDVM journalist Steven Cohen said. This will give both sides more time to prepare their case before the federal trial in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

To learn more about the defense, read the Associated Press story.

RELATED:

• Annapolis Espionage Trial Postponed Until 2022: Report
• Annapolis Spy Suspect Must Stay In Prison Until Trial: Report
• MD Couple Faces Espionage Charges Over Secret Data: FBI

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